Before I reentered university in the fall of 1960, I bought a pre-owned 1955 Ford blue and white two-door for about $500. It was in quite good shape except for minor lower body rust from being parked outdoors by the seller on a palisade overlooking El Segundo, CA...a beach community. During the three years of college, I, being persistently broke, gave short shrift to normal maintenance except at the beginning of each school year. But it was a game car and served me well. Whenever I see a similar vehicle in a film, I remember it fondly.

From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.--Phillip Marlowe, "The High Window"